The Worthington Story
by mrhawthorne
Summary: Warren Worthington III comes to Westchester in search of Professor Charles Xavier. Flashbacks, etc. Please R&R.


Hello out there in Internet land. This covers the introduction of Warren Worthington III to the Ultimate X-Men, and happens after the "Return to Weapon X" story line. Enjoy. Remember, all characters (except Geohoffrey as far as I know) are property of Marvel Comics and are not mine in any sense of the word. ~mrhawthorne  
  
The sun danced in, out, and between near-bare branches and onto the face of Warren Worthington III. Autumn was undoubtedly Warren's favorite season. There was something almost magical about it. The crisp air. The stunning foliage. Everything. Yet, this particular fall just...just...sucked.  
Warren shut his blue eyes, and images from the past few weeks flooded into his head.  
  
STORY BREAK  
  
Warren was having that dream again. The flying one. He soared through the clouds on beautiful ivory-white wings, moisture glistening on his face and on his golden hair. The sky was a perfect color, a beautiful soft blue, and was made bright by the sun's yellow beams.  
Giving in to a subconscious thought, Warren banked sharply. Warren darted cleanly through another cloud and dived down, down, down leaving his stomach thirty feet up. Warren couldn't stop the laughter from escaping his lips; nothing could top this feeling. Not kissing Candy. Not acing finals. This was definitely heaven, and nothing could pull him out...  
BREEP! BREEP!  
Suddenly Warren's heaven shattered into a million pieces.  
"God..." Warren groaned softly, his eyes opening slowly. He sighed, and rolled his eyes shut, hoping to grasp the dream once more again.  
BREEP! BREEP! the clock whined again.  
"Damn it," Warren said. He shifted through his wine-colored, satin sheets and slammed his fist on top of the black alarm clock to stop its infernal screeching.  
Warren rolled over and face-planted into one of his three pillows. Maybe now he could get some sleep.  
A soft knock came at the door causing Warren to start suddenly.  
"Are you awake, young Master Warren?" a British accented voice asked through the door.  
"Yes, Geohoffrey," Warren responded.  
"Good, I wouldn't want you to miss school." Warren's eyes snapped open against his pillow.  
"Shit! School!" He jumped up from his bed and darted to his dresser to grab a pair of boxers, and get ready for school.  
Geohoffrey smiled behind the door.  
"Breakfast will be ready when you come down sir."  
  
STORY BREAK  
  
Since Warren could remember, Geohoffrey played the father figure. Of course Warren had a father of his own (who, ironically enough, was also named Warren), but he was always too busy closing deals and buying out companies. He didn't even know Warren was seventeen. Warren didn't ever think about it very often, partially because he was always so engrossed in his own life to even notice his father was there, and also due in part to the fact that Geohoffrey's breakfasts were the best in Boston.  
It wouldn't be very long until Warren started to miss them.  
  
STORY BREAK  
  
As soon as the chauffer pulled up to the front curb of William J. Howard Preparatory School, the first attendance bell rang.  
Warren flung open the rear passenger door and ran as fast as humanly possible. He could only imagine how he looked with his red tie flapping behind him and his books almost falling out of his backpack. But now wasn't the time to worry about how he looked, he just needed to make it to Mr. Kensington's first period Algebra class on time.  
Warren rounded a corner (nearly slamming into a freshman girl with a fully reconstructed Notre Dame model in the process), his shoes squealing on the tile floor, and dashed down the third wing.  
One, two, three doors passed. One more and he would make it. Fortunately, Warren stumbled into the classroom gasping for breath as the tardy bell rang in the background.  
"Glad were able to make it, Mr. Worthington," Mr. Kensington said in his usually nasally voice. Warren looked up to see the short balding man walk from the blackboard where he was explaining something on Quadratics and to his attendance log.  
"One more tardy, and you would've been handed detention."  
It was then that Warren realized that every student had his or her eyes locked on him, one was even snickering.  
"Sorry sir," Warren said, quickly going to his seat in the far back corner.  
Mr. Kensington bobbed his head and went back to his blackboard. Warren looked up from his desk to see a slim young man, with round glasses pointing and laughing at Warren with one of his friends.  
"What's so funny, Cameron?" Warren said icily to the laughing character.  
Cameron Hodge turned around in seat and gave Warren a mocking look.  
"Why so late, War? Did your mommy forget to wake you up this morning?" he asked him, snickering at his own bad joke.  
It was all Warren could do to not punch that freckle-faced moron.  
"Bite me, ass hole," was all Warren could respond with.  
  
STORY BREAK  
  
Since they met in Kindergarten, Warren knew he hated Cameron Hodge, and it was a torture that the fates seemed to enjoy perpetuating.  
Cameron and Warren were usually in the same classes, and if not in the same classroom, they always had the same teacher.  
The two were in constant competition. Cameron loved to win. Warren even more so. Cameron, though, was louder. Whenever he beat Warren, in however small amount, he gloated for days, and made sure that everyone seemed to know. While Warren always settled for a smug smile, and a barbed comment.  
They only fought (well...physically anyway) once. It was in his sophomore year at the preparatory school. Cameron was more than happy to tell the entire school how Warren was mugged walking along Boston Commons. Cameron went home with a bloody nose and a black eye, while Warren was hardly scratched and handed a week of suspension.  
Daddy Worthington was furious...  
  
STORY BREAK  
  
Ahh...lunch. Perhaps the best period of the day. Especially since Warren had met Candy Southern. She was a bright spot in Warren's life. Though he knew it was clichéd, he swore that Candy's smile could light up a room, and her perfectly blue eyes could almost drink his soul. Warren also loved to run his fingers through her hair, which always seemed to make her laugh. And she was at the perfect snuggling height, five foot seven inches, a good four inches shorter than him.  
Warren sat on the lip of the bronze fountain in the middle of the school courtyard, just finishing up his fries. It was a beautiful day, despite the somewhat chilly breeze that blustered through the courtyard. He chomped down on another few fries drenched in ketchup as he stared at the sky.  
"What are you looking at?" a light, feminine voice asked. Warren almost dropped his fries on his pants jolting in seat.  
He shook his head and looked over his shoulder to see Emma Frost sitting next to him and looking up at the sky. He and Emma had also dated, but then again when you're ten dating doesn't really have a lot of meaning.  
  
She had grown out of her gangly, nerdy self and evolved in a blonde- haired, blue-eyed queen. She also seemed to be wearing a lot of white nowadays, which was something Warren thought oddly suited her.  
"I don't see anything but a nice blue sky..." she continued. He rolled his eyes, and smiled shyly.  
"I wasn't really looking at anything, it's just nice to sit here," he finally answered. Emma shivered.  
"Even when you're freezing your ass off on this damned fountain?" she asked, giving Warren an arched eyebrow and a flirtatious smile. For instant (or was it more than that?) the two couldn't take their eyes away from each other, and strangely enough... Warren could have sworn he heard her laugh in his head.  
"Hello Emma," Candy's voice said icily from over Warren's shoulder. Warren shook his head and blinked.  
Emma smirked, "Hey Candy, still buying your bras at Wal-Mart?"  
Warren held down a wince, while Candy set down her purse. Surprisingly, Candy only smiled.  
"Sadly, no," Candy said. "But I see you didn't get the memo about not wearing white after Labor Day." Emma returned the forced smile.  
"Touché', " Emma replied, getting to her feet. "See you in Chemistry, War."  
Emma walked... no... she almost swayed, back into the school.  
"Bitch..." Candy breathed.  
"Hey, has anyone ever told you that you're sexy when you're mad?" he said, trying to smooth over the situation. Candy rolled her eyes.  
"You think anything I do is sexy, Warren," she responded. Warren smiled at her.  
"So?"  
Her smile faltered. "Warren, I think you and I need to talk."  
He dabbed more of his fries into his ketchup, and stuffed them into his mouth.  
"About what, honey?" he said around the fries in his mouth.  
She sighed and sat down next to him.  
"I think... I think we need a break," she said, looking at the fountain's water.  
Warren dropped his fries into his ketchup, and his eyes widened.  
"W-What?" he asked, almost in a whisper, a knot swelling in his stomach.  
Candy sighed.  
"I just don't think we're right from each other."  
Warren grabbed her arm.  
"At least look me in the eye when you tell me this shit," he hissed.  
  
Candy narrowed her eyes at him.  
"Let me go Warren."  
"But, Candy, we...we...had made love," he said in a hushed whisper. "Doesn't that mean something?"  
Candy's angry blue eyes filled up with tears. She jerked her arm away from him, and turned on her heel.  
"Candy! Wait!" Warren said, jumping up and reaching for her arm again. She jerked away before he could grab her, and stalked back into the school building.  
Warren stood there by the fountain, dumbfounded, unable to even process that the tardy bell rang in the background.  
  
STORY BREAK  
  
Three days later, Candy still wouldn't return his phone calls, and transformed into the Ice-Bitch at school.  
"God!" Warren hissed as he slammed down telephone, which sharply responded with a tart "ding".  
He sighed and rubbed his eyelids.  
"With exclamations like that one can only assume that you are having woman troubles, Master Worthington," Geohoffrey's voice said from behind him.  
Warren started, as if struck.  
"Oh Geohoffrey, it's you," he said, realizing who the voice belonged to. Warren sighed and plopped down onto one of the family's Lay-Z-Boys, a green one.  
"Well?" Geohoffrey asked, smiling. Warren gestured towards a red, wingback that he knew Geohoffrey liked.  
"It's Candy..." Warren began, and within the next half hour Geohoffrey received the somewhat edited version of Warren's relationship drama. Geohoffrey took all of it in, nodding at all the appropriate times and wearing a constant smile. When Warren finished, Geohoffrey sat back into his chair and rubbed his thumb along the cleft in his chin, something he had always done when he was weighing a particular piece of advice.  
"Well, sir," Geohoffrey began, leaning towards Warren. "It seems that--" But before he could finish the doorbell interrupted them.  
Geohoffrey sighed and dropped his head.  
"You'll have to forgive me sir, duty calls." Geohoffrey got to his feet and hustled to the door.  
Warren waved him away, and began rubbing his eyelids with his thumb and forefinger again.  
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, sir, but a certain Cameron Hodge is here to see you," Geohoffrey said, re-appearing in a few moments.  
  
Warren refrained from jolting up in his seat, but couldn't help but raise an inquisitive eyebrow.  
"What the hell does that puke want?" he quietly wondered aloud.  
Geohoffrey couldn't restrain a small smile.  
"Shall I send him away then?" he asked. Warren considered it for moment, but then again he didn't fancy hearing about how he sent the son of one of Warren's father friends away for the next two weeks.  
"No, just tell him to meet me near the pool." Geohoffrey nodded and went back to the door.  
Then again, what would Daddy Worthington say if Cameron suddenly ended up in the pool? That thought brought a smile to Warren's lips.  
Warren decided that Cameron deserved to wait, since he was so rude to bother him at home, so he sat in the Lay-Z-Boy for a few moments before getting up and walking back to the pool. When he arrived, he found Cameron wiping his index on one of Mommy Worthington's glass patio tables and then inspecting closely.  
Warren cleared his throat to herald his arrival.  
"About time War," Cameron said, forcing a much-too-sweet smile.  
Warren rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest.  
"This is a nice place, you got here War," Cameron continued. "Jeeves over there keeps it pretty spotless."  
"Cut the crap, Cam," Warren said flatly. "Why are you here?"  
Cameron's smile took on a new, somewhat sly look.  
"I just came to tell you about my new sweetness."  
Warren gave him another roll of his eyes.  
"When are you going to learn? I don't give a crap about your little chippies that follow you around because your daddy's rich," Warren said icily.  
Cameron dropped his smile as Warren turned his back on him.  
"Oh, I wouldn't exactly call Candy a -how did you put it? - a chippie?"  
Warren stopped dead and felt his stomach drop into his shoes.  
He heard Cameron chuckle.  
"Oh that's right. Didn't you guys used to date?" Cameron asked mockingly, knowing full well what the answer was. "Oh please. You didn't honestly think you were the only guy she slept with did you?"  
Warren turned around sharply and snarled, "Drop dead, dirt bag."  
Cameron's smile returned and his eyes narrowed behind his round spectacles.  
"Make me, you prick."  
With that Warren lunged at Cameron with a yell he himself didn't think was in him. Cameron, already prepared for his move, snatched Warren's wrists before he could get to Cameron's neck and squeeze. Warren was thrown into his mother's patio table with a crash.  
"Damn, that was easier than I thought it was going to be," Cameron said, smiling. Warren growled again and kicked Cameron's feet from under him. He went down flailing and crashed into one of the still standing chairs.  
Cameron responded with a swift kick in the ribs. Warren grunted as he took the blow.  
"You fucking bastard!" Warren screamed leaping towards Cameron, again, with outstretched arms. But he collapsed even before he made an inch; his whole body feeling as if it had been thrown into a raging inferno.  
Cameron giggled. "What's the prob' War?" and then added mockingly "Did I kick you too hard?"  
Warren choked for breath, and tears streamed down his burning cheeks.  
  
Cameron crawled away from Warren's fallen form, still giggling like a jackal.  
"You really are a pussy."  
Warren mustered enough energy to shoot a glare to Cameron.  
Cameron smiled back, and dashed out of the Worthington's backyard as Geohoffrey came running up to Warren.  
And with that Warren passed out, slamming his head on the concrete.  
  
STORY BREAK  
  
Two days later, Warren woke up in his bed, but something was undeniably different. He had wings... And four days later he learned he was a mutant. A genetic freak. A part of what a terrorist, and even some scientists, were calling humanity's "next step in evolution".  
He swiftly became the household "problem". His mother couldn't even look at him, and his ever-loving father hired a lawyer to "take-care of this mess". And when he heard his parents talking about surgery, Warren stayed locked in his room for days.  
But then a ray of hope came for him through Professor Charles Xavier and school for the "gifted".  
This sixteen-foot, ivory white wingspan wasn't a gift. It was a curse.  
Warren pondered that thought as he stepped out of car, and onto the black pavement just in front of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. 


End file.
